The broader crypto market, which had leaned bearish, is now entering a cooling phase as sentiment becomes more balanced between bulls and bears.
Liquidation data over the past 24 hours showed a near-even split, with $67.42 million in long liquidations and $64.53 million in short liquidations, while the crypto market’s RSI remained at neutral levels.
Periods like this often mark decision points for investors assessing where to deploy capital next, a trend that appears to be unfolding now.
Bitcoin losing dominance
A decisive shift is underway in the perpetual market, indicating that Bitcoin’s [BTC] dominance among traders is gradually fading.
This trend is reflected in the sharp decline in Bitcoin contract activity. According to Alphractal, the number of Bitcoin perpetual contracts traded has fallen from around 80 million per day to just 13 million on a weekly basis.
Source: Alphractal
This suggests that investors are exiting Bitcoin positions and reallocating capital into other assets with clearer directional potential, rather than remaining exposed to Bitcoin’s range-bound movement between $85,000 and $90,000, or choosing to hold stablecoins instead.
Ethereum [ETH] contract activity supports this narrative. Despite recent volatility, Ethereum contracts have remained steady at around 17 million, indicating sustained participation and reduced exhaustion among traders compared to Bitcoin.
Capital rotation confirms
Capital rotation is becoming increasingly evident, with Bitcoin investors steadily shifting exposure toward Ethereum.
The ETH/BTC chart, which compares Ethereum’s performance relative to Bitcoin and helps identify where liquidity is concentrating, reinforces this view.
Between the 24th of November to the 8th of December, the chart shows stronger capital inflows into Ethereum than Bitcoin, reflecting a bullish relative performance—a 14% increment.
While ETH/BTC has seen a slight pullback since then, Ethereum remains more attractive from a capital perspective as long as the 0.03 level holds.
Source: TradingView
Spot market activity also supports a bullish outlook. Investor purchases have continued to rise, with approximately $87 million worth of Ethereum bought over the past two days alone, suggesting anticipatory positioning.
Sustained capital inflows, particularly when driven by spot demand, public companies, and institutional participation, would further strengthen Ethereum’s bullish case.
What the next phase holds for ETH
Liquidation clusters remain a useful indicator for identifying potential price targets, as seen across other major assets.
Current charts show three liquidation clusters positioned both above and below Ethereum’s price, which could act as magnets for price movement.
The directional bias will depend on which momentum dominates in the coming days.
Source: CoinGlass
An upward move would likely see ETH rally toward the $3,060 level. Conversely, if sell-side momentum strengthens, a decline toward $2,800 remains a plausible scenario.
For now, capital continues to shift into Ethereum from both the spot and perpetual markets, reinforcing its growing prominence in the current market phase.
Final Thoughts
- A massive drop in Bitcoin contracts has moved in a completely different direction for Ethereum.
- Liquidity rotation from Bitcoin into Ethereum continues as spot inflows keep rising.